Complicated
by Alexander-the-good-enough
Summary: Cammie is a rebellious high school senior determined to enjoy herself. Zach Goode is the new mysterious guy who was kicked out of his old school. Cammie never falls for guys like Zach, but she can't resist him. She's attracted to the danger he radiates. Her life is already complicated and when Zach comes along, he causes even more complications. AU!ZAMMIE!RATEDT!
1. New Guy

_***Disclaimer: I don't own Gallagher Girls or any of its wonderful characters.***_

_**Summary: Cammie is a rebellious high school senior determined to enjoy herself. Zach Goode is the new mysterious guy who was kicked out of his old school. Cammie never falls for guys like Zach, but she can't resist him. She's attracted to the danger he radiates. Her life is already complicated and when Zach comes along, he causes more complications. **_

* * *

_**Chapter 1: New Guy**_

Cammie clutched her black stilettoes in one hand and black purse in the other as she tiptoed down the wooden stairs. She winced as it creaked. She paused for a couple of seconds but her mom didn't come out of her room. Cammie was relieved. It was eleven at night and she didn't know how she would explain to her mom why she was creeping about the house in a red lace mini dress. Thankfully, her mom was usually dead to the world by ten and she was a very heavy sleeper. Cammie was glad of that, otherwise she would find it impossible sneaking out as her house was so small. Bex and Macey didn't have this problem as their houses were huge and their rooms at the other end to their parents', not to mention they worked away a lot. Cammie used to live in a lovely house but her dad walked out on her and her mom about 2 years ago and her mom couldn't afford to keep the house on her own. Cammie had gotten a job in diner so her mom didn't have to pay for all her stuff as well as pay all the bills. She didn't want to add to her mom's worries by being a troublesome teenager so she tried to hide as much as possible from her mom. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

It was early September so even though it was night, the weather was still very humid. "Hurry up," Bex grinned as she rolled the window down. "We don't want to be late." Cammie slipped into the seat beside her best friend. Bex had the air conditioning cranked all the way up so the coolness of the car was a welcome relief from the clammy air outside. It was the night before school started again, so it was the McHenry annual back-to-school party. The tradition had started about 8 years ago when her brother was a sophomore and ever since there had been one every year. Her brother had left a few years ago and Macey's sister had continued the trend. Her sister had left last year so it was up to Macey this year.

When they arrived, the driveway was packed with cars and you could hear the music from outside. People were making out on Macey's very expensive leather sofas and most people were hammered…or at least a little tipsy.

"Hey guys!" Macey called to them as they went out the back. There was keg on the patio people were jumping fully clothed into the swimming pool. Some guys were smoking something that smelt suspiciously like marijuana. Macey's black hair hung in curls right down her back and she wore a white bralet top with high waisted hot pants. She had a cigarette in one hand and a red cup in another. "I thought you weren't coming."

"We'd have been here sooner if someone hadn't taken so bloody long!" Bex laughed grabbing Macey's cup from her hand and taking a sip.

"I had to make sure I didn't wake my mom," Cammie sighed. Sometimes she hated that her mom wasn't as relaxed as her friend's mom's. Bex didn't need to get permission to do anything and Macey's was down with her doing anything, providing no major laws were broken. Cammie's mom would have a fit if she saw her here now.

"Oh my god, come dance with me!" Bex grabbed her and Macey as Mr Brightside started playing. "This is my favourite song!" Cammie spent the entire night drinking and dancing. When her shoes had started to kill her feet, she kicked them off and danced harder. She danced with everyone; she was so sociable when she was drunk.

When Cammie woke to the shrieking sound of her alarm, she had a pounding headache and felt so sick and had no idea how she had gotten back home. She slammed her hand down on the clock to shut the wretched thing up. She pulled herself out of bed and half crawled, half shuffled to her ensuite bathroom. She clutched the side of the toilet as she threw last night's liquor up. She washed yesterday's makeup off and jumped in the shower. She would happily have stayed in the warmth if her mom hadn't shouted up the stairs to tell her to hurry up so she wasn't late for school. She really wasn't feeling school today. There was no way she would get anything done with this hangover. She blow-dried and straightened her hair and put on more makeup than usual so she didn't look like an extra from The Walking Dead. She slipped into a pretty floral dress and made her way downstairs.

"Do you want me to make you some waffles, kiddo?" Her mom asked.

Waffles were Cammie's favourite but this morning she really didn't fancy them. She shook her head, "It's alright." She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"I'll see you later mom," she called as she headed out.

She was halfway down the street when she heard and unfamiliar "Hey!" When she turned around, a tall boy with dark brown hair was jogging towards her. "Do you go to the Gallagher Academy?" He asked her.

"Um yeah…" Cammie replied.

"Do you mind if I work with you? I'm new and I have no idea where I'm going," he said with a smile.

"Sure, are you a senior?" she asked.

"Yeah, my names Zach."

"Cammie."

...

Cammie groaned when she saw her new timetable. She had double maths first. With Mr Rogers. She hated Mr Rogers and he hated her. He hated everyone, but he really didn't like her. She had had him since she had started at Gallagher and he was so boring.

She was early to class so she grabbed the table at the back she and her friends usually shared. She was relieved when she saw Leighton and Macey walk in to her class. Leighton was tall with short blond hair wide blue eyes. He had been friends with her since they were in kindergarten and they had never fallen out.

"Bex, Liz, Grant and Jonas have all got Mr White this year so it looks like it's just going to be us," he said as he sat down opposite her.

"It's going to be a riot," Macey smirked. "Do either of you feel dreadful? I feel like shit."  
"My head kills," Leighton agreed. "I feel like I fell on it," he said rubbing his head.

"You did fall on it, dumbass," Macey said rolling her eyes.

"I did?"

"Yeah, you were running around like an idiot and you slipped and hit you head on the patio," she laughed.

"Oh my god," he said. "I should probably get checked, I might have concussion…"

"It's probably knocked some sense into you," Cammie smirked.

"Wow, Cam, you're real funny," he retorted.

She shrugged. "It's one of my many gifts."

"Ahem, Mr Mason, Ms Morgan, I would appreciate it if you would shut up for 5 minutes," Mr Rogers said with an exasperated tone.

"Brilliant, the first lesson isn't even over yet and he's already 100% done with us," Macey muttered under her breath. Mr Rogers glared at her but didn't respond.

"Before we begin, I'd like to introduce you to your new classmate, Zach Wood," he said gesturing to the same boy she had walked to school with this morning.  
"Um sir, it's Goode," Zach interjected.

"I don't care. Find a space and sit down," he instructed.

Zach glanced around the classroom. The only free space was next to her.

"Hey again, Cammie," he whispered as he sat down. Macey raised her eyebrow inquisitively in a way that suggested she should explain later.

"Hi Zach."

"He seems like a bit of an ass," he said glancing at Mr Rogers.

"Mr Wood, please be quite. I would hate for us to get off on the wrong foot," Mr Rogers said with yet another exasperated sigh.

"It's Goode sir."

"I don't care."

...

"How did you know the cute guy in maths?" Macey asked as she stretched. P.E was a lesson Cammie actually enjoyed. She was pretty good at most sports.

"Who?" she asked. She put her hair up in a ponytail so it was out of her face. They would be doing the 400m today which she loved.

"Oh c'mon, you _know _who I mean," Macey said with a roll of her eyes.

"Zach? He lives near me so I walked to school with him, he didn't know his way," Cammie explained.

"Hm…well it looks like him and Grant have become best bros," she said pointing to where the boys were doing P.E. They were doing Baseball and she was right, they did seem to be getting along.

"Speaking of cute guys…" Cammie grinned tilting her head towards their teacher, Mr Solomon. He was no older than 25 and was the only male teacher who was even remotely good looking. He always wore tight black t-shirts that stretched over his muscles and had a smile that probably cost him $10000.

"I have really missed him," Macey smirked

* * *

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	2. Don't Trust Boys With Pretty Eyes

_***Disclaimer: I don't own Gallagher Girls or any of its wonderful characters.***_

* * *

_**Chapter 2:**_

**_1 year ago_**

_The sound of a car pulling into the driveway made her clench her duvet tightly. She glanced at her bedside clock, it was 2:00am. She heard her father slam the car door shut. She didn't need to see him to know he was wasted. He did this most nights. He would go out as soon as he'd had his dinner and he wouldn't come back until the ridiculous hours of the morning. He always came back drunk. When he did this, Cammie wouldn't sleep until he came back. Her father was an angry drunk. He would come in slurring and shouting, and he would always take it out on her mom. He would hit her and scream at her. Her mom had tried fighting back once, but he hit her over the head with a glass. She needed three stiches and ever since she hadn't even tried to defend herself. _

_Cammie would lay in bed whilst this happened and pretend to be asleep. When her dad was drunk he terrified her. There was nothing she could do to stop him, so she stayed out of the way. She was always scared that one night he would hear her upstairs and come and hit her. _

_Tonight was no different. She curled up in a ball and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She tried desperately to block out the sounds but it was no use. She could hear muffled, quiet voices but nothing else. _

_"Matthew, I know everything," Her mom spat. _Don't provoke him mom, _Cammie couldn't help but think to herself. _

_"You don't know anything," her dad said icily. Cammie could only hear from her room but she could picture her dad getting up in her mom's face. _

_"You're cheating on me!" Her mom shouted. Cammie could hear the devastation in her mom's voice. Despite everything her dad did to her, her mom still loved him. She heard a sickening thud, and then her mom cry out in pain. Cammie felt a silent tear slip down her cheek. Her dad was shouting now, though his words were so slurred she couldn't make out what was being said but she couldn't listen to it anymore. She couldn't bear it. She shoved her headphones in and turned her music up so she couldn't hear anything anymore. She buried her face into her pillow to make sure her tears remained silent. _

_She didn't know how long it had been, but when she took her headphones out, there was silence. She couldn't hear anything. She tentatively pulled the curtain back and saw that her dad's car had gone from the driveway. _

_She padded downstairs slowly. The hallway was a mess. There was broken glass on the floor, the phone table was knocked over and the phone ripped from the wall. She pushed the living room door open and was greeted by a similar devastation. The lamps were broken and the draws had been flung open and stuff had been discarded carelessly. The kitchen door was open and she could hear her mom sobbing quietly._

_"Mom?" she said quietly as she took in the horrific sight in the kitchen. There was blood on the floor. Everything that could be broken, was broken. Pots and pans were chucked about. Her mom was crouched on the floor. She held some tissue at her bloody nose with one hand whilst she tried to wipe the blood off the floor with her other hand. Her left eye was swollen shut and her lip was bleeding. Her bare arms were covered with scratches and her ankle was twisted at weird angle. Cammie didn't want to think about the injuries she couldn't see that hid under her clothes. "Did Dad do all this?" Cammie asked, horrified._

_"It's okay, Cammie, it's gonna be okay," her mom was sobbing and shaking as she spoke._

_"Mom…"  
"He's gone, Cam," her mom said between sobs. "He's not coming back."_

_..._

Zach ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He needed a job desperately and _Deli and Dine_ were the third place today to turn him down. He wandered down Roseville high street but everywhere was closed at this time apart from the odd restaurant that had already turned him down when he had rang up earlier.

The last place on the street, and his last hope, was called _Roseville Grill. _The bell above the door rang as he went it. The room was quite large. It had wooden walls and a red tiles on the floor. It was quite dark inside and there were tables dotted around with red and green checked cloths and each had a small vase of flowers on. It was only 4:30pm so there weren't very many people in. There was an unmanned bar at the back of the room.

"Um, hello?" Zach called. He leant against the bar as he waited for someone. He was very surprised with the person who came out from the back. "Oh hey, Cammie," he said. She wore the _Roseville Grill_ t-shirt and black shorts. Her hair was tied up in a bun and she had little apron around her waist.

"Zach?" Cammie raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking to see if you needed any devilishly handsome waiters," he smirked.

"Why do you know someone who's interested?" she joked.

Zach feigned offence. "Do you speak to all your customers so rudely?"  
"You showed up basically outside my house this morning, you sat with me in maths and now you're appearing at my place of work. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalking me," she grinned.

"Damn it, was I so obvious?"

Cammie laughed. It was cute laugh that made her eyes light up.

"You know, I think we have a vacancy," she said. "I'll go and get my supervisor."

Cammie knocked once on the office door before entering. The owner, Nina, sat at the desk. She was a young woman, no older than 26 with long brown hair and a permanent tan. She had her hair in ponytail and a look of concentration her face. She was surrounded by papers and clicking away on the computer.

"Hey, Cam, is everything okay?" she asked. Cammie liked Nina, she was like a big sister to her.

"Yeah, thanks. There this guy at the bar looking for a job, I told him I'd come and get you," she said.

"Ah right, I'll go and see him now," she replied. "What's he called?"  
"Zach. He's kinda Abercrombie looking, you can't miss him," Cammie said.

A few moments later, Nina walked back in the office with Zach behind her.

"Turns out this place was looking for devilishly handsome waiters afterall."

It was around 7 when Cammie's shift finished. She'd had spent most of the night showing Zach the ropes. She had showed him how everything behind the bar war worked and how to make all the different cocktails. She had introduced him to all the other staff and some of the regulars. Zach was the only member of staff who was male with the exception of the chef and he proved to be a real hit with the ladies, even the older ones. He had only gotten the orders wrong twice, which considering it was his first day, she was quite impressed with. It had been really busy tonight and he had coped surprisingly well under the pressure.

She grabbed her bag from the office and waited by the bar. She couldn't make her mind up about Zach. He was funny, handsome and easy to talk to but he also screamed danger. But she had always been drawn to danger. _Never trust boys with pretty eyes_, Macey had told her once. Zach had very pretty eyes.

"If you want me to walk with you, you best hurry up," she called to Zach. He was talking to the chef, Sam, about god knows what.

"I'm coming," he said. He waved goodbye to Sam and followed her out the door.

"Do you like working there?" he asked as they walked.

"It's alright," Cammie shrugged. "The pays good and the hours are reasonable. Some of the customers are a bit sleazy but other than that, it's fine." All the waitresses were fairly young and a lot of the men, especially the older ones, took advantage of that and didn't seem to be able to resist objectifying them. At first, it had really annoyed Cammie but over time she'd gotten used to it.

"If any douche bags come in, I'll beat 'em up for you," he said with a grin.

"You don't look very threatening," Cammie lied. Zach was tall – at least 6 feet. He had broad shoulders and a muscular body which she hadn't noticed until he'd donned his very tight work t-shirt. He looked like he could easily win a fight, but at the same time there was a gentleness about him. His eyes were pale green that full of life and excitement. _And danger._ His lips were full and when he smiled he had dimples on his cheeks. His hair was deep brown and always looked ruffled. There was no denying he was good-looking and there was no denying that Zach knew that.

"I don't know whether to be offended or not…" he grinned.

"It was supposed to be offensive," she retorted with a slight twinkle in her eye.

"Y'know, I get the feeling that you're not too fond of me," he said.

"I haven't made a decision on you yet," she teased.

"Now that is rude," he said as faked and offended expression . "Do you always take this long to work out if you like people?"

She smiled. "I've met people like you before…you think you're so cool with your pretty green eyes –"

"You think I've got pretty eyes?" He smirked.

She rolled her eyes, "Cocky much?"

"Very."

"I'll see you around, Zach," she said with a smile.

"I take it that means you like me?"

"I'll let you know," she winked.

* * *

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It would mean a lot to mean if you review this chapter too, even if it's just a ':)' or ':(' (hopeful it won't be the latter, haha!)_**

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	3. Hypothetically

_***Disclaimer: I don't own Gallagher Girls or any of its wonderful characters.***_

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Hypothetically**_

**_Six months ago_**

_The water tower was situated on the outskirts of town. It was about 20m high and had some rusted steps that lead up the side. The tower hadn't been used in years so the gate to the steps was always locked. It didn't take much to climb. There was a loose railing around the top of the tower and from up there you had a good view of the town. It was only a few minutes' walk away from the school. It was where Zach and his friends always went when they were bunking class._

_Today, there were four of them there. Jess was a short, slim blonde girl with hazel eyes. Matt had blond hair and a laid back, carefree attitude. Then there was Crystal. She was average height but there was nothing else average about her. She had fiery red hair that tumbled right down her back. She had dark blue, almost purple eyes that were like dark hooks to the soul. Zach had had a crush on her since they were in third grade. They had never had anything romantic between them. For about three years she'd never given him the time of day. Ever since, they had just been friends. She'd always had a boyfriend and he'd always had some girl. None of them were like Crystal. _

_"Pass me the bottle, Zach," Crystal slurred. Zach tossed it to her. She took a swag. "Ugh, that was disgusting!" She grimaced._

_"Yeah but it's cheap and it does the job," he shrugged. They should have been in maths right now, but none of them had bothered going. When they had first started bunking class, it used to scare Zach shitless. He would spend the whole time panicking that they'd get caught. Now, he didn't care. Sometimes they got caught, most of the time, they didn't. It didn't matter to him now. _

_She passed the bottle round to Matt. She pulled out a lighter as red as her hair and light up a cigarette. She took a drag._

_"If you mother could see you now…" Zach smirked._

_She smiled and took another drag, "It's a good thing she can't." _

_"What are they doing here?" Jess spat. _

_Zach turned to where Jess was staring. "Fuck sake," he moaned. Jumping the gate, were Josh and Dilan. Josh had gone out with Crystal for a while but things had blown up last week. Josh didn't seem to be able to let it go. _

_"What do they want?" Crystal said in annoyance. It had been a bad break up and she didn't want to deal with it, especially not drunk. She leant against the railing, feeling it shaking slightly. She quickly stepped forward – that thing was dangerous!_

_"What do you want?" She snapped when the boys arrived. _

_"I was just looking for you actually," Josh said. "When you didn't show up at school today, well, I guessed you'd be here," he said. Crystal sighed. She'd brought him up here to get high and make out once when they'd gone out. She should never have done that. _

_"We just didn't realise that all the sum hung out up here too…oh wait," Dilan smirked. "You are the scum, Crystal." _

_She rolled her eyes, "Piss off, Dilan!" _

_"Touchy."  
"Seriously, Josh, put him on a leash," Zach retorted. He didn't need this crap, it was pointless, childish and pathetic. Dilan shot him an icy glare. Zach guessed if he had been smaller and weaker, Dilan would have punched him. However, he must have known he could never beat Zach. No one Zach knew realistically stood a chance against him. Hell, he'd fought most of them. _

_"I just want to speak to Crystal…**alone," **Josh said. _

_"Tough shit," Crystal and Matt said in unison. _

_"Fine, I'll say what I want to here." Josh took a few steps closer to Crystal, so they were almost touching. She stepped as far back as she dared. She didn't want to end up leaning on that wretched railing. _

_She knew this wasn't good. Josh and Dilan had known they would all be up here…no matter what Dilan said. They were probably drugged up on something and her, Matt, Jess and Zach were all wasted. This wouldn't end well – something would be said or done in anger and it would spark something off. Zach and Dilan had been glaring at each other since Dilan got here and neither of them were renowned for their temper control. _

_"Seriously, dude, back off," Zach snapped. He and Crystal might hate each other now but there was absolutely no need to get all up in her face._

_"Fuck off, you dick!" Josh spat. Zach was standing between Josh and Crystal._

_"What did you just call me?" He hissed. He balled his fist but Crystal stepped between them. _

_"Stop it!" She urged desperately. Zach looked like he was about to fly off the handle. Zach wasn't an angry drunk, but if you provoked him, he couldn't control his anger. Josh was similar, it seemed. Zach had seriously angered him and the fact that Crystal now stood between them didn't stop him throwing punch. Zach tried to push Crystal out of the way so it would hit him and not her, but he had pushed too hard and Crystal was too drunk to stand sturdily. She had tumbled straight into the railing. The railing shook perilously. For a second, maybe more, Crystal had a look of sheer terror on her face. Then, before she'd had time to push herself away from the railing, it collapsed. Crystal hit the floor with a sickening thud. _

_"Oh my god," Zach breathed. He ran to the edge. He couldn't see very clearly from this height, but he could tell that her legs were bent at an unnatural angle. He could see she wasn't moving. _

* * *

When Cammie got home from school, her mom was passed out on the couch. Her brown hair was tangled and messy, her makeup was smudged and her work clothes were creased. There was an empty whisky bottle discarded on the floor. A cigarette had been left on the table.

Cammie sighed. Her mom had a problem. When her dad was still living with them, she never drank but once he left, she hit the bottle. She hadn't dared when her dad was at home but after he left, she cried all the time and drank all the time. Cammie tried her best to help her but nothing she said ever seemed right. If truth be told, she didn't know how she could help her. She soon found comfort in alcohol that she had never found in her husband. She got drunk on weekends, work days, mornings, afternoons and evenings. It was her way of coping. She always said that it "fixed her problems" but Cammie knew that wasn't true. She was just pushing her problems further and further away without facing or fixing them. If anything, it was giving her more problems but trying to tell her mom that was easier said than done.

At first, Cammie had been sympathetic. She had been through a lot, she just assumed she'd need some time to get herself together and move on with her life but it had been a year and the problem had gotten worst. Her mom spent more time drunk than sober and she had started to get distant. She only left the house to go to work and she never kept on top of the house work.

"C'mon, mom," Cammie said as shook her mom awake. She needed to get her mom help but she had no idea how. If she went to try and get help, they'd probably take her into care as her mom was 'unfit'.

"Ugh," her mom groaned. "Go away."

"No, you need to get up," Cammie snapped. She lost her patience with her mom so quickly when she was like this.

"I don't need to do anything," she slurred.

"You're at work tomorrow!" Cammie grabbed her mom by the shoulders and pulled her up. "You can't go in hung over _again._"

"I'm not at work tomorrow," her mom said. She rubbed her eyes which smudged her makeup even more.

"Yes you are!"

Her mom laughed, but not because she found what she was about to say funny, "They sacked me."  
"Oh my god, mom! Why?" Cammie demanded. They were barley managing with her having a job, what would they do now?

"Apparently, I'm rude to customers," her mom huffed. Cammie didn't even grace her with a response. Her mom used to be friendly to customers, even after her dad left, but for the last few months there had been no end of complaints about her customer service. It looked like they finally had enough of her.

She led her mom carefully up the stairs, holding her arm so she didn't fall. She wiped her make up off her face and ran her a shower.

"I don't want a shower," her mom moaned as Cammie came out of the bathroom.

"You smell like a brewery," Cammie said, scrunching up her nose. Her mom sighed like a moody child and stomped to the bathroom.

Cammie rolled her eyes. She had so much school work she needed to do, as well as needing to learn her routine for dance. She couldn't be taking care of her mom, doing all the housework and, now her mom had been fired, working extra hours. She'd never pass her classes this year.

She fired up her computer. She saw she had a facebook message.

_Hey Gallagher girl, _Zach had put. Cammie smiled. She had no idea why he called only her Gallagher girl, considering all the girls she went to school with were technically Gallagher girls. Regardless, the nick name always made her smile.

_Hey Zach,_ she typed back. Zach had been here a week now and was in all her classes, as well as working at the same place as her so she saw him all the time. They soon learnt they had a lot in common and had become quite close over the short time he had been here. She felt she knew him really well, but at the same time she felt she hardly knew him at all. She didn't even know where he had moved from.

_Do you want to hang out?_ He asked her. Cammie glanced at the pile of homework and coursework she needed to do. _Fuck it,_ she thought. She needed to have some fun.

_Yeah, sure. Meet me at the rec in ten? _

She slipped on some flats and grabbed her purse. She didn't bother saying goodbye to her mom, she was probably still too drunk to notice she had gone.

...

The rec was an area of grass with a soccer goal post and an old children's play park. Young children hardly used it now, it was mainly used by teenagers. The park had a climbing frame that had a small treehouse at the top. When Zach got there, it had a few empty beer cans and cigarette butts. Zach dropped them into the bin and sat and waited for Cammie.

He liked Cammie a lot. She was probably the person he had become closest to whilst he had been here. She was funny, kind and she always looked gorgeous. Today was no different. She climbed into the treehouse and set next to him. Her hair was in loose waves that hung on her shoulders. She wore a pink floral skirt and white t-shirt. She was still tanned from summer and her legs and body were toned from all the dance she did. She was probably the first girl since Crystal he'd actually 'liked'. He had only known her a week but there was just something about her. He wasn't going to make the same mistakes he'd made with Crystal. He was going to tell her how he felt...maybe.

"Hey," he grinned. She smiled back in greeting.

"Y'know, I've been thinking," she began.

"Don't strain yourself will you, Gallagher girl," Zach smirked.

Cammie hit him playfully. "Don't be rude!"

"Anyway, I was thinking I don't really know a lot about you," she said.

"Yeah you do," he said.

"I mean, like, your past. I don't know anything about it," she said._ That's because you'd hate me if you knew about my past. _

"I don't know anything about yours either," he said. He wanted to change the subject. If Cammie knew about Crystal and Josh, she'd hate him and he couldn't bare that.

"That's true."

"I know, you try and guess something about me, and I'll try and guess something about you," he suggested.

"Yeah, I'll go first," Cammie grinned. "Well, I _know_ you've got pretty eyes," she said with a nudge.

"That is true," he laughed.

"And, you've been a bit of a hit with the ladies," she smirked.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah…you should've seen them all swooning over you in P.E on Monday," she laughed.

"Did you _swoon_ over me too?" he teased.

"Zachary Goode, I do not swoon," she said with a serious face.

"I have a question for you…" Zach said.

"Oooh, intriguing."

"If, hypothetically speaking, a tall, dashingly handsome, pretty-eyed stranger, asked you on a date, what would you say?"

"Well, tell me more about this dashingly handsome stranger," she said.

"_Hypothetical._ The dashingly handsome stranger is hypothetical."

"Sorry, tell me about this hypothetical, dashingly handsome stranger."  
"He's funny, great body," he smirked. "Apparently, he's a bit of a hit with the ladies…"  
"Oh right, well then I'd say yes. Hypothetically, of course."

"Hypothetically speaking, if this stranger said would 8 on Saturday be a good time to pick you up, what would you say?"  
"Hypothetically, I'd say that sounds great."

* * *

_**sooo...did you all like it? **_

_**Was it any good?**_

_**Thanks for all your reviews and favourites etc...it really means a lot to know people like what I'm writing!**_

_**Please feel free to leave a review on your way out...**_

_**(RANDOM A/N: does anyone watch game of thrones? It's back on tonight and I CANNOT WAIT!)**_


	4. The Date

_***Disclaimer: I don't own Gallagher Girls or any of its wonderful characters.***_

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_**Chapter 3: The date**_

**_Six months ago_**

_His hands were sweaty and he felt sick as he sat outside the Principal's office. The police had given him a suspended sentence and he would have to go to see a probation officer one a month for one year. They had believed that it was an accident but that didn't mean Zach felt any less guilty. He had pushed his friend to her death – intentional or not, he had killed someone. How does anyone live with that kind of thing? _

_"Mr Goode," The sectary called. "The Principle will see you now."_

_ Zach knew what was coming; expulsion. He deserved it, in fact he deserved a lot more._

_"Zach," she said shaking her head as he sat down. "Since you started we have had problems. General disruption, fighting, swearing, being rude to members of staff, bunking class getting drunk during school hours and/or on school property. Now these actions have led to the death of a student. You are not the only one to blame here, no one there should have been there and thus you all are partly responsible. You understand this?" _

_Zach clenched his jaw. "Yes," he said quietly. _

_"We tried to help you, Zach but you wouldn't accept it." **Lies **he thought. He couldn't blame the school for what happened, it was his fault but there had been no intervention. Zach had gone down the wrong path since he was fifteen years old and no one had tried to pull him off it. "You were such a bright boy, Zach. This is going to follow you for the rest of your life. Not only have you taken someone else's future you've ruined your own." **Tell me something I don't know. **"You've given us no choice but to exclude you," she finished. _

_"I understand." He stood up and walked out. He ignored her calling after him. He needed to get out of this school. To get out he had to walk past his year groups lockers. It had been less than two days but there were already loads of flowers in front of her locker. They weren't cheap flowers either, they were big, expensive and beautiful. Not as beautiful as she had been. He stopped and looked. There was a picture of her with some girl he vaguely recognised. Her red hair was curly and wild and her eyes sparkled. She had so much to live for and now that was all gone. There were messages too, each one long and detailed attached to the flowers. She had been so loved. She was nice to everyone and she had no enemies. Everyone said how cruel it was that her life had been taken from her and that she had had so much potential. _

_It was all true, she did have so much potential. She would have gone on to be someone great and successful but now she never would. _

_She was a kinder, smarter and all round better person than he was and now she was dead and he was still alive. How was that fair? If he had never become friends with her, she wouldn't be dead. If he hadn't gone onto that fucking water tower with her, she wouldn't be dead. If he didn't have such a temper, he wouldn't have provoked Josh. She wouldn't have stepped in and he wouldn't have had to push her away. No matter what way he looked at it, it was always his fault. _

_It seemed he wasn't the only one who felt like that. People whispered and shook their heads as they walked past him. They knew what had happened and the law might not see it as intentional murder but they did._

_He was glad he was leaving because that meant he wouldn't have to live with their whispers and dirty looks. He wouldn't have to live with their blame and if that made him a coward then so be it._

_He walked out of those double doors and never looked back._

_..._

Cammie hated most subjects at school and she really, really hated French. She'd love to be fluent in another language but she hated the learning process. Plus, her teacher was dreadfully boring. Cammie had her cheek in her palm as she stared out of the window at an empty field (which happened to be much more interesting than learning about the past participle).

Bex jabbed her in the side with her pen. "Hey, that hot guy Zach who Grant has been hanging around with instead of me," Bex said with an irritated tone. "Well, he won't stop staring at you," she smirked.

Cammie turned to look and just as she did, Zach turned away. She smiled to herself. "There's something I should probably tell you."

"What?" Bex demeaned. _This was definitely more interesting than the bloody past participle._

"Zach asked me out," she whispered. She didn't realise she was blushing.

"Oh my god!" Bex said in surprise. It wasn't as quiet as perhaps it should have been.

"Rebecca!" Miss Paul boomed. Bex flinched at the use of her full name. "I'm sure your conversation is much more interesting than-"

"Oh it is," Cammie mumbled under her breath. No one was supposed to hear but it would appear Miss Paul did.

"Cameron Morgan!" She spat. "Outside now!" Cammie groaned and did as she were told. At least the corridor might be more interesting than in here. Zach winked at her as she left.

She sat down on the floor outside the class room and sighed. She just wanted this week to be over. The quicker the week was over, the quicker 8'o'clock Saturday came around.

...

Cammie never normally spent ages deciding what wear. She liked to look nice, but she had a keen eye for fashion (as Macey had told her on numerous occasions). Today was the exception. Everything she tried on just seemed wrong. One hour of decision making later and all her clothes chucked from one end of the room to another, she had decided on the first outfit she'd tried on. She wore black high-waisted skinny jeans and a lacey vest top. She had her hair straight and red lips.

When she went downstairs, she saw her mom sat on the couch. This wasn't unusual. However, her mom was washed and had a small amount of make up on. She had had her brown waist-length hair, which she had let get ratty and horrible, cut so it hung just above the shoulders. She didn't look drunk or high or anything. She looked normal.

"Mom, are you feeling alright?" Cammie asked with a raised eyebrow. She kept an eye on the clock – she had 10 minutes until Zach got here.

"Yeah kiddo," her mom beamed. "I've decided to listen to your advice and sort my life out. Getting fired was the wakeup call I needed," she said.

"Oh, well I'm off out tonight," Cammie said. She had absolutely no idea how to respond to what her mom had just told her. Her mom had spent so long waking up in her own vomit that Cammie had forgotten how beautiful she was.

"Have fun, kiddo!" She smiled. "And be back by 11," she insisted. Cammie frowned. She hadn't had a curfew since her dad left.

She lingered in the hallway until the doorbell rang. She almost ran to answer it but she didn't want to seem desperate. She checked her appearance in the mirror. _I should have gone with the blue dress_. There was no time now though.

"Hey Gallagher Girl," Zach grinned. "You look very nice today."

Cammie blushed. "Well, you don't look too bad yourself." He looked hot.

"Now, I'm pretty broke," Zach said as they walked. "I wanted to take you to a nice restaurant or something but I can't. So what I lack in wealth, I intend to make up in delightful company," he said.

"That's good to know," she laughed. "Where are we going?"

"To the Zoo," he said.

"Zach the Zoo is going to be shut," she stated.

"That's all part of the fun," he smirked.

The sun was beginning to set when they arrived. "Are you any good at climbing?" Zach asked when he saw the bolted gate.

"We're about to find out," she sighed. She decided to go first. The gate was quite high but not so high that she would kill herself falling. It was a shaky climb and an even shakier landing but Cammie managed it. Zach did it annoyingly quick and looked annoyingly cool doing it.

"How do you even know how to climb that?" Cammie laughed.

"Well, I am the tall, dark and handsome new guy, so it's only right I have a mysterious background," she smirked.

"What were you? An assassin?" She grinned.

"Dammit, my cover has been blown."

The Zoo was eerily quiet at night. It was only a small Zoo. It had a large enclosure for lions, a smaller one for monkeys and a dolphin pool. It also had some small enclosures for lemurs and birds. Cammie's heart was racing as they walked to the lions. She was pretty sure this was illegal.

They had been there about an hour, cooing at baby lions, flirting and even the odd kiss. Cammie had started to feel less and less scared about being in a Zoo, illegally, after closing hours. It wasn't until a huge light turned on sirens began to wail that she almost shat her pants.

"Fuck," Zach said. "We need to leave," he said as the two of them ran.

"Wow, you think?" shot back. She could hear the security guards running behind them but she didn't like back. She just kept running and running. When they got to the gate they sprung over it so fast that Cammie fell and landed on her arse. Despite the security on their tail, they both laughed. With gate between them and the guards, they hurried off down an ally so they wouldn't be found.

It took them both a while to get their breath back. "Holy shit," Cammie said between pants.

"I know right," Zach said breathlessly. "It's always fun," he said.

"Wait, you knew that would happen?"

"Yeah. It always happens."

"You could have warned me!" she snapped.

"It wouldn't have been as fun then, would it?" he grinned.

"Tru-" He silenced her with a kiss. A proper kiss. Not like the pecks they had had been sharing around the zoo. It was deep and hard and passionate. She pressed her body and against his and looped her hands around his neck. He had one hand on her waist and the other he ran through her hair. When they finally pulled away, they were both breathless. Neither of them would let go so they just stood with their arms around each other.

When it got to eleven, Cammie reluctantly said they should be going. She didn't want to. She wanted nothing more than to spend the night with Zach, in his arms.

He kissed her on her doorstep before leaving. "We need to do this again, Gallagher Girl."

"We do," she smiled.

When she got in the house, she could hear voices from the living room.

"Sorry I'm late, mom," she called. She walked through to the living room. "Oh my god," she gasped when she saw that her mom was sat up at half past eleven at night, talking to her father.

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_**sooo...did you all like it? **_

_**Was it any good?**_

_**Thanks for all your reviews and favourites etc...it really means a lot to know people like what I'm writing!**_

_**Please feel free to leave a review on your way out...**_

_**(RANDOM A/N: I doubt any of you are interested but at the moment I'm also writing a Vampire Diaries fanfic called 'Runner' and 'All's Fair in Love and War' and a Game of Thrones one called 'Different Paths'. If you're interested feel free to take a look!)**_


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